Lobsters
by blanchards
Summary: Phoebe telling Emma the story of her parents.


**Disclaimer: I do not own the show, M. Kauffman, D. Crane e K. Bright. & NBC Channel do.**

**AN: This story takes place 12 years after the show is over. Ross and Rachel have been married for 11 years.**

It was a nice night in NY, Ross and Rachel were invited to a party and they didn't want to leave their daughter, almost 14 years old Emma, alone.

"But dad! I can take care of myself!"

"No, miss. You're only 13 and I know that Westchester is safe, but there's no way we're going to leave you alone at night. And your aunt Phoebe is coming to stay with you. You love her!"

"True. But I still think it's not necessary. Aunt Monica and Uncle Chandler live right across the street! And there's Jack and Erica..."

"They went to Las Vegas to visit Chandler's father, remember?"

"Oh, yeah. They told me something about that but I forgot."

Rachel was finally ready and everybody was waiting for Phoebe, which didn't take more than 5 minutes.

"Sorry, I'm late!" Phoebe entered the house apologizing.

"It's ok, Pheebs. I hope you girls have fun!" Rachel said goodbye and the couple left.

"So little lobster, what you've been up to?"

Emma laughed. "You always call me that, what's that about?"

"Your parents never told you?"

"Hum, no... Does it have to do with that 'we were on a break!' thing?"

Phoebe laughed. "No, no. It was before that whole drama."

"So tell me the whole story! I know a couple of things, but I've never heard the full story."

Hearing that, all of the memories came to Phoebe's mind, and she smiled at the thought of her best friend's beautiful journey.

"Alright, Emma. You know that your parents grew up in the same neighborhood, they went to the same school and stuff, right?"

"Yeah, aunt Monica told me."

"Ok, I don't know everything about this time, because I met everybody later, but anyway, what I know is that when your father was 15 years old, he fell in love with your mom. You know that your aunt Monica and your mom were best friends."

"Yeah. I still can't believe that my mom had that nose and aunt Monica was that... big."

"Believe me, you're not the only person who was surprised when you saw that. So, your father went to college and then he married Carol, but you know the end of that story. And about your mom, I don't really know about her life at that time, what I know is that she left Barry at the altar on her wedding."

"That guy who looks like Mr. Potato Head?"

"Yeah! Anyway, she went to the city, to see if she could find Monica. She started to live in Monica's apartment with her, and during the first year, your dad was divorced, and all those feelings from before about Rachel were coming back. But he didn't have the courage to talk to her."

"So somebody did?"

"In the day of her birthday, Ross had to go to China, because of a whole bone thing. You know, your dad and his dragons."

"Dinosaurs."

"It's the same. He couldn't say goodbye to Rachel, so he left her a gift. When she opened the gift, she saw that it was a really expensive pin, and your uncle Chandler accidentally told her that Ross was in love with her."

"Wow. What happened?"

"Only the guys knew about that, so we were really surprised when we found out, especially your mom. She was really confused about it. But then she realized that there was nothing wrong about that."

"So they got together when he got back?"

"That's what we all wanted! Rachel went to the airport to wait for him, but he came with another girl."

"Oh, no!"

"It was really hard for your mom at the beginning, and your father didn't know that Chandler told her about Ross' feelings for her. So one night, your mom went on a date, and got drunk."

"Seriously? My mom? Drunk?" Emma started to laugh.

"I know right! She called Ross and told him that she was over him!"

"I bet it was hilarious."

"She actually left a message on his machine, and in the next morning, he was listening to his messages at her apartment, but of course, your mom didn't remember about this message. When she realized that he wasn't suppose to listen to it, it was too late."

"He broke up with Julie, didn't he?"

"He did, but your parents didn't get together. Your father had made a list with Rachel and Julie's pros and cons."

"Oh, even I wouldn't make a list."

"Your mom was really sad about that list."

"They didn't get together for how long?"

"A couple of months. There was a day when your grandparents brought Monica some of her old stuff that was in their house, including the tape of Rachel and Monica getting ready to go to the prom."

"I saw this tape! I didn't get why he wanted to take her. It makes sense now."

"All the six of us watched the tape together, and your mom realized how much your dad cared about her, so she kissed him! That was when I told the lobsters story. They're like lobsters. They fall in love and mate for life."

"So they finally got together? That's so romantic!"

"Yes. They were together for a year, and it was great. We could tell how much they cared about each other."

"A year?"

"Yeah... In the day of their anniversary, Rach had to work until late. She was already working at Bloomingdales. She met this guy, and your father was really jealous of him. They had a fight and your mom said she wanted a break."

"Oh, the whole 'we were on a break!' drama!"

"Yes! They had a really bad fight and your dad was so devastated, that he ended up sleeping with someone else."

"Oh."

"Your mom found out about this and they broke up. It was hard, because we could understand both sides. Ross' because he got drunk and he only did it because he thought he had lost her. And Rachel's because of the fact that he had slept with someone else."

"But how did they work this out later then?"

"Hold on, Emma. A lot of things happened before you were born."

"So tell me."

"They tried to get back together after four months, but the whole 'we were on a break!' thing came up again, and they broke up 'for good'."

"What do you mean, 'For good'?"

"Emma, Emma. Believe me, they broke up, but their feelings were the same. They decided to stay friends and everything was nice until your dad started to date Emily."

"Emily? I think I've heard something about her. From London, right?"

"Right. Your father and Emily started to date, but after a couple of weeks she had to go back to London. You know that your dad loves marriage, don't you?"

Emma laughed. "Yeah. I love to make fun of him about that."

"I know, me too! But anyway. He proposed to Emily. Your mom was really surprised about it, because it hadn't been a year since they had broken up."

"Not even a year?"

"No. They went to London to get married, but I had to stay in New York, I was pregnant at the time. Your mom decided to stay, to help, and also, it would be weird for her to see Ross getting married. She didn't admit that she was still in love with him, until I said it. So she went to London to tell him."

"Wow!"

"I tried to stop, but I wasn't able to do it. When she got there, she saw him with Emily and didn't say anything, just congratulated him."

"Really?"

"Aha! But here comes the cool part. Well, at least for your mom. Instead of saying 'I Ross, take thee Emily', he said 'Rachel!'"

"And I thought those things only happened on TV!"

"It was great, not for Emily, but for all of us. You can imagine how sad and mad Emily was. She didn't answer Ross' phone calls or anything. A couple of weeks later, they got divorced."

"So after that, my dad found out about my mom's feelings and they got together?"

"No. May I finish the story, please?"

"Oh, yeah. Continue."

"They were friends for awhile. It was when your aunt Monica and your uncle Chandler started to date. It was fun!"

"Erica told me that they hide it from you guys."

"Yeah, but it didn't take us too long to find out. They're no Charlie's Angels."

"I can imagine."

"They were going to celebrate their first anniversary in Las Vegas, so I invited everyone to go!"

"Wait. it was their anniversary, and you invited everybody?"

"Yeah, you think I would miss another trip? It was really fun!"

"Did anything happen with my parents there?"

"Let's just say, they got drunk, and your father got married for the third time."

Emma was laughing almost hysterically. "I so wanted to see that!"

"It was really funny. But you know how your parents were... None of them wanted to admit that they still loved each other."

"Why?"

"I don't know, they're perfect for each other!"

"Yeah, the whole lobsters thing."

"Exactly! But then they got divorced."

"But... Why?"

"Well, your dad didn't want to divorce at first."

"Because he was still in love with her."

"Yes! I was trying to make him admit it, you could tell that he still felt something for her. It was a chance to finally something happen. But like I said, your parents were really weird, so they got divorced."

"Yeah, they were complicated."

"You had no idea. Some time has passed, your aunt and your uncle got engaged, and in the night of their wedding, we found out that your mother was pregnant of you."

Emma looked confused.

"Your parents had what they called 'The Bonus Night'. They slept together but only for one night, nothing more."

"That was a great idea! I love how it turned out!" Emma laughed.

"We were all really happy when we knew that Ross was the father. But that made the whole 'Ross and Rachel as a couple' come up again."

"They told me something about that. I know that they were not together when I was born."

"Yeah, they weren't. Your mom used to live with your uncle Joey, until your dad realized that he wanted to be close to her during the pregnancy."

"So they went to live together?"

"They did. And in the night that you were born, they even kissed! But it all got very awkward. None of them knew what to do. They wanted to get back together, but they were afraid that it wouldn't work out, they were worried about you."

"But they just simply agreed to not get back together because of me?"

"Not really. There was an "accident" in that night."

"An 'accident'?"

"Your grandma Geller went to the hospital trying to convince your dad to ask your mom to marry him. He said he wouldn't do that, but I was talking to him when we were watching you at the nursery and I made him realize that he could have everything he've always wanted since he was 15 years old."

"Since he was 15. That's a long time."

"Yeah, it is. He followed my advice and went to talk to her to know what she felt about starting all over."

"She said no?"

"Actually, she agreed. But before he talked to her, Joey accidentally took your father's ring, that fell on the floor. When he got up, with the ring in his hands, Rachel thought that he was proposing to her!"

"Oh, no!"

"It was all really messed up."

"But did he actually say something?"

"He didn't."

"So how..."

"Rach was confused with something that Janice, someone we knew, had told her. She was worried that because her and Ross weren't a couple, she would have to raise you all alone someday. And plus she was really tired. So after it all happened, they agreed on staying friends."

"When did they get together again then?"

"Wait Emma, I'm getting there." Phoebe laughed. "Almost two years had passed, you were one year old, I was already married to Mike and both of your parents were single. Oh, by the way, your mom went back to Joey's apartment."

"Why?"

"She and your father had a fight about their situation. Living together but not being a couple, and with all their history, something was wrong."

"So what happened later?"

"Your mom was working at Raulph Lauren for almost 5 years, and she went to an interview for Gucci. Her boss was right next to her table during the interview, so he heard everything."

"She got fired?"

"Yes. And she didn't get the other job. That's when that guy Mark, from Bloomingdales showed up again. He offered her a job, but the job was in Paris."

"Paris?" Emma was surprised.

"Yeah. We all got really sad about it, but also happy that she got a good job. Your dad didn't know what to do, even though they were not together, he couldn't imagine her being so far away from him."

"Did he say something to her?"

"Not to go?"

"Yeah."

"No. He did everything he could to get her job back at Raulph Lauren, but he saw that she was really looking forward to go to Paris."

"And why she didn't go?"

"We had a going away party for her. She said goodbye to everyone individually, but not to Ross."

"Why she didn't say goodbye to him?"

"That's what he was wondering. She went back to her apartment without saying goodbye to him, but he went after her to ask her what that was all about."

"Finally an attitude!"

Phoebe laughed. "Yeah! He didn't let her explain why she did that, and he went back to his place. A couple of minutes later, Rach went after him."

"They had a fight, didn't they?"

"Yes. She told him that the reason why she didn't say goodbye to him individually was because it was too hard for her, because he means more to her than everyone else. So they kissed and slept together that night."

"Wow!"

"Yeah, we were all really happy when Ross told us the next day. But Rachel was still going to Paris. They didn't get the time to talk about what that night meant to them, and he let her go."

"But, she got back..."

"Actually, she didn't even go. I took your dad to the airport so he could talk to her and try to convince her to stay."

"And she stayed?"

"No, when she got on the plane, she thought about everything he told her and left a message on his machine saying that she loves him too. Your dad got home and listened to the message. At the end of the message, he could hear her talking to the lady and trying to get off the plane."

"So she did?"

"Emma, don't ruin the end!"

"Sorry, go on."

"When the message was over, your dad turned around and saw her standing at the door."

"Aw, that's beautiful!"

"So they finally got together! You know the rest of the story. Your aunt and your uncle moved to the suburb with your cousins, one year later you guys came too, and now I'm here with Mike!"

"And Joey is in Los Angeles."

"Yeah. I miss him. But I'm glad he has a huge career now."

Emma and Phoebe didn't realize how late it was until Ross and Rachel come in.

"We're home!" Rachel shouted from the door.

"Wow! Look at what time is it!" Phoebe said, surprised when she looked at her watch.

Ross and Rachel laughed.

"Did you two have fun?" Ross asked.

"Yeah!" Emma said. "Thanks for the story, aunt Pheebs."

"You're welcome Emma. Bye you guys." Phoebe said goodbye and left.

"What story did she tell you?" Rachel asked.

"A story about lobsters."

Rachel looked at Ross. They both smiled.


End file.
